Gas Natural Europe, a subsidiary of GAS NATURAL FENOSA, supplier of natural gas in France, has made its first LNG unloading at the regasification plant of Montoir in Brittany, operated by Elengy (a GDF Suez subsidiary) in order to consolidate and enhance its presence in the French market.
The energy multinational, a major player in the global LNG market, is relying on LNG as a new source of supply and arbitration within the framework of its growth strategy in Europe.
Gas Natural Europe is responsible for the sales and marketing of natural gas to industrial and commercial customers in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. It is currently operational in all these countries, with the exception of Holland and Germany, in which it is scheduled to start business imminently.
With the opening of new offices to attract customers in the Netherlands and Germany, GAS NATURAL FENOSA plans to increase its wholesale natural gas sales business, taking advantage of its position and experience as the leading natural gas marketer in the Iberian Peninsula and as a global LNG operator with significant presence on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.
Among the markets in which it operates, France stands out, where the company has been developing its business since 2005 and where it currently has sales of 9,300 GWh and 560 industrial customers in various sectors, with a share of 2.4% of the nonresidential gas market. In Belgium and Luxembourg, the company has been operating since 2011 and has sales of 1,100 GWh and 150 industrial customers.
Gas Natural Europe, has subscribed from Elengy a total of 1 bcm/y regasification capacity during the period 2011-2021, which will enable GAS NATURAL FENOSA to increase its sales activity in the European natural gas wholesale market.
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LNG World News Staff, December 29, 2011; Image: Gas Natural